Read the Certification First: The Best Water Filter Pitcher

Water is the main ingredient in an agua fresca. A pitcher of horchata, jamaica or agua de sandía is mostly water, and so is a pot of café de olla and every ice cube in a glass of tamarindo. If your tap water tastes of chlorine, so will all of them. A water filter pitcher is the simplest way to change that: fill it from the tap, let it run through a cartridge, and keep it in the fridge.

The hard part is reading the box. Every pitcher claims to reduce a long list of things, but only some of those claims are certified to an NSF/ANSI standard by an independent body, and the standard tells you what was actually checked. This guide sorts that out for eight pitchers and dispensers, quoting only what each maker’s certification lists.

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Quick verdict: which water filter pitcher to buy

Below, five standouts side by side, then all eight reviewed in full.

Five water filter pitchers compared

One pick for each kind of kitchen, with the certifications and filter life each maker lists. All eight are reviewed below.

Product images from Amazon. Certifications are as listed on each maker’s performance data sheet or certification page; they apply to the specific pitcher and filter models named there.

Our picks for the best water filter pitcher

The eight below include the two big carbon-filter brands, an ion-exchange pitcher, two long-life pitchers and two large dispensers for a counter or a fridge shelf. For each, the certifications are quoted from the maker’s performance data sheet or certification statement, naming the standard and the body that certified it. Where a maker advertises results from its own or third-party testing that are not certified, we leave those claims out.

How to choose a water filter pitcher

Five questions settle it. Start with your water, not the pitcher.

1. What is in your water?

Brita’s and ZeroWater’s data sheets both recommend having your water supply tested before you buy, so you can match the filter to what is actually there. If chlorine taste is the only issue, a Standard 42 certification covers it. If something more specific concerns you, look for that exact substance on the maker’s data sheet.

2. Which standard, and certified by whom?

Read the certification, not the box. NSF/ANSI 42 covers aesthetic effects such as chlorine taste and odor. NSF/ANSI 53 covers the substances the data sheets group under health effects, such as lead and mercury. NSF/ANSI 401 covers emerging compounds and incidental contaminants, such as some pharmaceuticals and microplastics. NSF/ANSI 372 concerns lead-free materials in the product itself. The certifier should be a named body, such as NSF International, WQA or IAPMO R&T, and the claim applies only to the pitcher models listed. “Tested to” a standard is not the same as certified to it.

3. Filter life

Ratings here run from 15 gallons (ZeroWater) to 200 gallons (Waterdrop). The certifications only hold up to the rated capacity, so a long-life filter is fewer replacements, not better filtering. If you drink and cook with a lot of water, factor in how often you will change it.

4. Capacity and shape

A 7-cup pitcher fits a fridge door; a 10-cup pitcher fills three bottles; a 27- to 30-cup dispenser keeps a crowd supplied. For a pitcher of aguas frescas each day, plus coffee and ice, a dispenser saves constant refilling.

5. Cold water only

Brita’s data sheets say not to use hot water (maximum 85°F), and PUR gives 82°F. Filter cold water, then heat it in your electric kettle or coffee maker. None of these pitchers is for water that is microbiologically unsafe, as both Brita’s and PUR’s sheets state.

How we chose these eight pitchers

We started from what a kitchen uses filtered water for: drinks, coffee, ice and the water in aguas frescas. We looked at pitchers and dispensers sold on Amazon in the United States and in stock when we checked, from makers that publish a performance data sheet or certification statement, and we read those documents directly: Brita’s sheets for the Elite and Standard filters, PUR’s sheet for the PUR PLUS filter, ZeroWater’s data sheet, and the certification statements from Clearly Filtered and Waterdrop. Every contaminant named on this page is one the maker lists as certified, with the standard and the certifier. We left out reduction claims based only on in-house or third-party testing. We have not used these pitchers ourselves, and we make no health claims of our own. We left out LARQ’s PureVis pitcher, whose maker describes its filters as independently tested to NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401 rather than certified, and Aquagear, whose listing describes third-party testing without a certification.

Water filter pitcher questions, answered

Which water filter pitcher removes the most contaminants?

Of the pitchers here, Brita’s Elite and PUR’s PLUS filters carry the longest certified lists, across NSF/ANSI 42, 53 and 401. ZeroWater’s certified list is shorter but includes PFOA/PFOS and hexavalent chromium for the pitcher itself. Compare the specific substances you care about on each data sheet.

Is Brita or PUR better?

They are close. Brita’s Elite lasts 120 gallons against PUR’s 40, and its 10-cup pitcher is larger. PUR’s 7-cup pitcher is slimmer and dishwasher safe. Both carry certified lead claims under NSF/ANSI 53 for the models named on their data sheets.

What does NSF/ANSI 42 certification mean?

It covers aesthetic effects, mainly chlorine taste and odor and, on some sheets, particulates or zinc. A pitcher certified only to 42 (and 372 for its materials), like Waterdrop’s PT-07, is certified to improve taste, not for health-effects claims.

How often should I change a pitcher filter?

At the rated capacity, or the time limit if one is given: 40 gallons or about two months for Brita Standard and PUR PLUS, 120 gallons or about six months for Brita Elite, 15 gallons for ZeroWater, 100 gallons for Clearly Filtered and 200 gallons or three months for Waterdrop.

Does filtered water make better aguas frescas and coffee?

If your tap water tastes of chlorine, removing that taste helps every drink made with it, including the ice. Freeze filtered water in good ice cube trays so the ice does not bring the taste back.

The pitcher we would keep in the fridge

More appliance and fixture guides: countertop ice makers, nugget ice makers, induction cooktops, kitchen faucets, oven thermometers, oven mitts, electric hot plates.

More water filter guides: under-sink water filters, faucet water filters, countertop water filters.

Worried about lead? See our guide to the best water filter pitchers for lead removal.

Using 5-gallon jugs instead? See our guide to the best water dispensers.

On a budget? See our guide to the best affordable water filter pitchers.

Want filtered water on the go? See our guide to the best water bottles with built-in filters.

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Related guide: Brita vs pur water filter.

Buy the Brita Large 10-Cup Elite pitcher if you want one pitcher that fits most fridges, carries certified claims across three NSF/ANSI standards and needs a new filter only twice a year. Choose the PUR Plus 7-Cup for a fridge door, the ZeroWater 10-Cup if a certified PFOA/PFOS claim on the pitcher itself matters most, and the Brita UltraMax if you go through water by the gallon. Then make a pitcher of jamaica with it. And if you would rather we made the aguas frescas tonight, see the menu or call to order.